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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK FEDERAL RESERVE BANK Number 443 OF DALLAS Wednesday, June 25, 1958 ACREAGE FARMERS A P P R 0 V E A L L 0 T ME N T S In the referendum held on June 20, 1958, the Nation's wheat farmers voted by more than a .§. to l margin to limit their 1959 crop in return for Government price supports of at least $1.81 per bushel, according to preliminary returns released by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The 83.7% favorable vote was about the same as the margin in the seven previous referendums. W I-I E A T 1 9 5 8 - C R 0 P BAL E 0 F C 0 T T 0 N F IR S T According to a recent press release, the Nation's first bale of 1958-crop cotton arrived at Harlingen, Texas, on June 20. The cotton weighed 458 lbs. and was grown on the 777 Ranch, 13 miles west of Rio Hondo, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The Harlingen Chamber of Commerce each year guarantees a minimum of $2,500 for the first bale of cotton delivered there. In 1957, the first bale of cotton was delivered on June 11 and brought $2,960. Cooler weather and rains delayed cotton in the Valley this year. up SPRING P I G C R 0 P The Nation's 1958 spring .Ei.g crop totaled 52.7 million head, reflecting a 2% increase from the 1957 spring crop, reports the Agricultural Marketing Service. The number of sows farrowed this spring was nearly 7.5 million, or 3% more than the number farrowed during the spring of 1957. The number of pigs saved per litter av eraged 7.05, compared with the record high of 7.12 pigs saved in the preceding spring. Breeding intentions i ndicate about 5.9 mi llion sows to farrow this fall, which would be 13% above the 1957 fall farrowings. If intended farrowings are realized and the number of pigs saved per litter is average, the 1958 .E2:_g crop will total approximately 94.2 million. A crop this size would be 7% above that in 1957 and 5% greater than the 1947-56 average. GR AS S H0 P P E R C 0 NT R 0 L MA K I N G G 0 0 D P R 0 G R E S S Good progress in halting further spread of migratory grasshoppers is being made in eastern Colorado and in neighboring areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, according to a recent report of the USDA. Treatment of rangelands, roadsides, and idle and waste land is gaining momentum rapidly, and farmers in many areas are pushing ahead with needed treatment of fence rows and field margins to protect their crops. Wheat crop damage is expected to be very slight in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. P A Y ME N T R AT E S F 0 R W0 0 L I N C E NT I VE P R 0 G R AM The USDA recently announced that shorn wool payments for the 1957 mar ket ing year under the wool incentive program will amount to 15.5% of the dollar returns each producer received from the sale of shorn wool during the marketing year April 1, 1957, t hr ough March 31, 1958. The payment rate on sales of unshorn lambs to compensate for t he wool on them will be 33¢ per c~of live animals sold.~nty Agricul tural Stabilization and Conservation (ASC) offices will start making payments soon after July 1. No payments will be made on mohair sold during the 1957 mar keting year , since the average mohair price of 88.6¢ per lb. received by producers was above the support price of 70¢ per lb. .... L I VE S T 0 CK Cattle marketings at Fort Worth on Monday, June 23, totaled an estimated 2,200, or the smallest Monday run since April, according to the AMS. Rains during the past week end undoubtediy curtailed receipts. Prices were mainly steady to strong; however, some sales were 50¢ per cwt. higher than in the preceding week. Good 600- to 1,100-lb. slaughter steers sold at $26 to $27; Commercial cows, $20 to $21; and Good 550- to 750-lb. stocker and feeder steers, $24 to $26. The calf supply, at an estimated 700, was about the same as a week earlier but was only about half that on the corresponding date in 1957. Prices of slaughter calves were strong. Most Good grades of slaughter calves cleared at $26 to $27, and stoc~er and feeder steer calves brought $27 to $30. Monday's hog offerings are placed at 500, compared with 900 both a week ago and a year earlier. Trading was active, and barrows and gilts sold at prices which were mainly 25¢ to 50¢ higher than in the latter part of the preceding week. Most U. S. No. 2 and No. 3 Grades of 200- to 240-lb. barrows and gilts sold at $24 to $24.75. Sheep and lamb receipts were 3,500, which was the smallest Monday volume since April~ -sprTng lambs accounted for approximately 60% of the total, and oldcrop shorn lambs made up most of the remainder. Trading was active, and prices were generally fully steady with those in the latter part of the previous week. Good and Choice 80- to 95-lb. spring lambs brought mainly $22 to $23. P 0 UL T RY The Texas ~nercial broiler markets were fully steady during the week euded Friday, June 20, according to the State Department of Agriculture. As compared with a week earlier, prices were unchanged in east Texas and Waco but were 1¢ per lb. higher in south Texas. Closing prices were 22¢ in south Texas, with a few 1¢ lower, and 21¢ in east Texas and Waco. During the corresponding period in 1957, there were a few sales at 22¢ in south Texas, and prices were 21¢ in east Texas and Waco. The Texas commercial broiler markets were steady on Monday of this week, with the following prices quoted: South Texas, 22¢, with a few lots at 21¢, and east Texas and Waco, 21¢. ME X I C 0 E X P AN D S R I C E 0 U T P U T Rice productio:i in Hexico during the 1957-58 season was 4% _larger than during the preceding year, despite drought in important producing areas - especially Veracruz. A further gain in output is indicated for the 1950-59 crop, according to the Foreign Agricultural-Service. Yields in Veracruz are expected to be lngher tha last year, and a new production area in western Mexico is being planted to r iC This area ls in the Fuerte Valley of Sinaloa and is irrigated from a reservoir completed rn 1950. J. z. Rowe Agricultural Economist
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